The Bond of Gravity Law
by ThatSplendidJerk
Summary: Slices of life shedding light on twelve years in two boys' lives. One with his feet up in the stars, the other treading firmly on ground.
1. Starpath with Company

A young, red-haired man begun his late afternoon shift checking the outdoor equipment just beside the rocket launch site. Routinary work like that was dreaded by most people and especially by the trainee astronauts, but to Taiyou Hoshinari, it held the fascination of a recent graduate finally coming in practical contact with everything theory had handed him.

Absorbed in the tedious disassembly of the energy cables, he hadn't noticed that something was different in that sunny day.

He wasn't, in fact, alone as he was used to be.

Turning round on a whim, he spotted two boys in their school gakuran, eyes big as saucers, staring with something close to reverence at the launch site.

His first impulse wasn't the kindest: He thought the best was to ignore them and continue with work as it was, but the placid afternoon, the nearby rustle of the crickets and the fact that he was the only one in the Center at that time of day, stopped him in his tracks.

Those kids. It wasn't raucuous curiosity that had bought them here. One of them, spikes of black hair pointing up like a defy to gravity, was holding his hands to his mouth, apparently beside himself with excitement. The other, a brown-haired kid, was grinning as if Christmas had suddenly materialized in the late days of June.

They looked just as if they had entered a holy site.

The hungry look in their eyes, staring at the rocket... He knew it.

No mere curiosity. They were completely taken in by the launch site.

He chuckled gently. He knew that stare, for it had been etched in his face when he was a child, too. Moving the equipment on one side, he sideglanced at them as they glued themselves to the fence.

"What's he doin', what's he doin'?"

"I wish I knew! If only we could get closer!"

Loud. The two of them. How could two tiny middle-schoolers have that much booming power in their throats?

"Take out a page, you can draw that, can't you?"

"'Course I can, I'll show you...!"

"No, no, you need a ruler, that's angling there!"

"Okay, come and have a try yourself if you're so good at critique!"

He heard their laughter next. Apparently none of them was good at drawing!

After the cabling and the securing of the bolts, he looked back and to his surprise... there they were still. The silence behind him had convinced Taiyou that both had gone somewhere else.

The sun was starting to set. What was that about?

"Hey, you two? It's late now, y'know?"

The brown-haired kid grinned, while the black-haired boy struggled not to step back at his arrival. They whispered excitedly as he approached.

A smile appeared on his face. The wonder of middle-schoolers staring at a man whose job was to travel towards the stars. He never ceased to marvel at it, or to feel the immense responsibility of being the center of children's fantasies.

Even if he was a trainee himself, come to think of that. Just recently transferred, in fact.

"Hey, you two, I'm talking to you. The rocket ain't going nowhere anytime soon, you can leave now..."

The boy with the jet black hair seemed to find a reply almost instantly.

"Mister, would you leave so soon if you found the place you want to live for the rest of your life?"

The firmness of the statement left the astronaut without any words to reply. But he knew, kids are kids, so he played down his enthusiasm.

"You are... a bit too much young to know that, y'know? To live for... I mean, if you want... y'know, know what it feels like, you can just buy the costume..."

"No, no, not a costume! I want to wear the real deal!"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't wanna put it on for play! **I want to be an astronaut for REALS!** "

The brown-haired kid chuckled to himself. That last bellow, he saw it coming a mile away! However, the fire in his friend's eyes was something completely, utterly new... even to him.

No pause of silence, for Taiyou found his voice rather quickly.

"I heard your names. You would be Aoi-kun. And you, Housuke-kun, right?"

Sharp nods from either side.

The guy behind the fence laughed. "Well, I'm Taiyou. And I hope you know this is quite the toll, young one!"

"I'm not worried. I know the risks, I know I have to train. **That's fine by me!** "

A flock of birds perched in a nearby section of the fence flew off alarmed. There was even more fire in his voice, in the loudness of the last statement, in the way he gripped tight the wire of the fence, and how his beetle black eyes stood the man's amused stare.

"I am not joking" he said quietly "You will need a sound body and good grades to be a prospect, and even then, a lot quit halfway. It takes a crib of 250 guys to produce a mere five man crew. That's how hard this is..."

At each obstacle named, the boy nodded sharply, showing he had done his research.

"And of course, your families won't take that too kindly..."

Both boys's gestures subsided - Housuke into reserve, Aoi into sadness. But it took him a mere glance to his friend by his side to bounce back and declare, in a voice that was a yell as well as a cry:

"It's fine! _The closer I am to space... the closer to them I'll be!_ "

Oh. Crikey... so that was why they seemed unconcerned enough not to move from their gazing spot...

Aoi was decidedly defiant now, as was the way he stood the adult's guilty stare. He wouldn't allow the fact of being an orphan to stop him midway through his dream. His breathing was audible now, the only sign of his inner turmoil.

On the other side of the fence, the young man smiled softly.

"How old are you?"

"Eleven"

"I see. You want to be an astronaut, too?" he asked Housuke, whose wiry frame was decidedly less impressive than the slightly stockier body of his friend.

"Nope, that's Aoi-kun. Me, I want to be a lawyer!"

"That sounds impressive all right!" He conceded "I don't know the slightest thing about law, though... I don't know if I can help you..."

"Of course you can! **Tell us all about space!** "

Housuke left his backpack on the floor and sat down in front of the fence.

"See... I'm not too good at PE. Can't swim for the life of me. And... not good at running! Aoi-kun told me you need that and more to be an astronaut... I want to be a lawyer, so it's fine. But I sure want to hear more!"

Smiling, Aoi followed suit, sitting just beside his friend.

Taiyou found himself grinning, too.

He himself hadn't gone there yet and was still considered the weakest ring on the chain, but somehow, somehow, while looking into those eyes that were as amazed as supportive, he felt he could do anything, no matter how dangerous.

"Well, then... if you promise you will go- uhm, back after I'm done... I can tell you a little something! Not too much because it's secret, but just a tiny bit!"

"Deal, deal!"

"Okay, then! About gravity training...!"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Half an hour later, as he saw the two kids enthusiastically wave back at him as they left with their backpacks, Hoshinari Taiyou picked up the remaining cables and stepped in. It had been rewarding to see the two kids attentively following his explanation with polite awe.

Little did he know that it would be the first of many.

That the scene would repeat itself for years to come.

That the black eyed boy would become his support and companion, to the point of saving his life.

That the brown-haired boy would pick up where his friend had left and save him from prison, and give him the last push to arrive, once again to the stars.

That both would end up being his motivation to return to his great love, space.

What a nice way to repay those stories in the courtyard of the launch pad site.

But, for now, he was oblivious to what the future had in hold for him.

He had, just now, ignited the stars in two lonely boys' eyes.

And that was fine with him.


	2. Does friendship ring a bell?

It was just a day like any other.

A group of middle schoolers were walking in a tight knot from their school towards the orphanage where they lived. The distance was ten blocks or so, yet, for the most righteous out of the lot, the idea to play hookie or move away hadn't crossed his mind. Creasing frown on his limpid forehead, he turned page after page of one of the school books. On his side, walking cautiously to stay in his path of vision, his best friend eyed him with a bit of anxiety.

They were the ony two who went to a different school than the rest. Their age when they arrived to the orphanage meant they could be set into a regular school class with other kids. Housuke had been home-schooled by Dhurke and his Japanese needed practice, but he was up to standards. Aoi had excellent grades to start with and a good foundation. Both were given a go at the entry exam and passed it. Despite their different approaches and upbringing, the director confided they would do okay since they clicked on sight and had such a symbiotic relationship. One would surely look out for the other and likely, keep one another out of trouble.

And trouble had just manifested for the Khura'inese-raised boy...

Aoi had tried to help Housuke out of getting a note on his poor Maths homework, for the director of the orphanage would surely ground him right away after seeing the infraction. Unfortunately, the teacher had issued the note, and he was now giving dirty looks at it, folded in the Maths book he held in his hand Housuke was far too honest to get rid of or hide the note, and, as his name was on it, there was no way Aoi would be able to swap it by posing as the culprit. He had an innate gift for maths, but, try as he might to teach him, his friend was blocked with both the subject and the language.

Orphanages were no place to be weak, that much was certain. They hid quite well any and all frailty by yelling. Few really wanted to have a go at Odoroki and Daichi. The reason was simple: even if the straight nature and wiry, short frame of the aspiring lawyer would have made him an excellent target, the wannabe astronaut was the tallest and stockiest of the class, and, in the narrow hallways, he always walked a couple of steps behind the double-fringed boy's back.

No one did really know or notice that he wasn't doing this as much as a protective measure as a defensive one. Aoi was rather timid with the rest of the kids, and his way of coping was positioning himself behind Housuke. Being much taller, he couldn't hide behind his chipper friend, giving the illusion that he was guarding his back instead. The loud brown-haired kid knew of this, and he kept his friend's secret safe.

Housuke put the paper in his pocket with a sigh, likely thinking about the punishment on sight. No getting out with Aoi to the Space Center. Why had Maths to be so difficult. And then, in Japanese... A lawyer needs no maths, come on.

"Hey guys. How about we do it again?"

One of the older kids, at the beginning of the row, addressed the group in a rallying voice.

"Do what?" Housuke blurted out, confused.

"Ah, yeah, you two are new. It's simple! We call it PPD!"

As he spoke, he casually got closer to an intercom near an apartment building. "At the count of three!"

"Huh? But we don't know the ru-"

"One. Two. Three!"

And he rang the intercom.

Immediately, there was a stampede, as all the kids ran as fast as their legs would take them.

("...?")

("EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?!")

Housuke had been raised in the mountains. He was not the most athletic kid, and he was naive too. He couldn't make sense of the dirty trick in time, and by the time he understood what had happened, his legs had already refused to work.

And then, the door opened in front of him.

With the face of a very angry, middle aged salaryman protruding from the gap, glaring at him.

"You little... Why did you ring the bell? Think it was funny? Eh? Answer me!"

The brown-haired boy opened his mouth, with no idea what to say.

This was going to be big.

Real big.

Grounded for a month, if not more...

Left on his own.

With no chance of defense.

His Chords of Steel failed to respond, too.

Blood rushed to his face...

"I am sorry, sir! I was sure this was the correct building!"

Housuke gasped and turned around. Sure as sunlight coming after rain, Aoi was also rooted to the spot, behind him.

("Why didn't he even try to run?")

He gingerly came over and bowed to the furious man. "We were looking for our teacher, see... he needs Maths remedial classes..."

"Oh. Maths remedials, huh! There was a teacher living here, but he moved out. I've been living here for a week now!" The man grinned at the two kids. "Sorry to scare you, kiddo, I just thought you were playing. Ask for the teacher's address again, will you? Now, if you will excuse me..."

And he closed the door. Housuke let out a big sigh of relief. Why on earth had that happened to him? He looked at Aoi, who had just... lied on his behalf. How did he even know, how could he take that out of nowhere?

"The doorbell" the black-haired boy replied, pointing to the name in it. 'Takahashi-sensei' was written clearly under the intercom. "He didn't look like a teacher, but if the intercom said so..."

"You are a lifesaver" Housuke croaked, feeling his throat sore and knotted. "That was wicked!"

"Say nothing. They played this prank to get us in trouble. Just act as if nothing happened... they are around the next corner..."

As on cue, the aspiring astronaut started talking loudly and animatedly about class, the teachers, their classmates, homework, all without skipping a beat. Housuke understood and joined in the chat, laughing at his comments and commenting back. They doubled the corner and as Aoi had predicted, the rest of the group were waiting, disappointment etched all over their faces.

"Yo, now that you two have finally joined, let's move, we'll be late for dinner!" the older student from before yelled back, in a spiteful tone.

Both friends stopped talking in unison, exchanged glances and a silent grin, as they merged, once again, into the student group.

In front of the soup bowl, slurping the noodles with hungry delight, the aspiring lawyer looked at his friend. He had been banned from getting out for a full week, as expected, but had avoided subsequent trouble thanks to Aoi's quick wits. He had returned to his silent mode after they had come back, and was now sipping the noodles calmly, his eyes slightly narrowed in contentment.

"Daichi, you knew that thing from before..."

"Yeah, Pin Pon Ditch... Seen it a couple times"

"I have seen you in Gym class. You could have... outrun that lot, easily"

Aoi nodded, sipping in the noodles with glee.

"Yet... you didn't. You stayed behind." He paused, aware of what he was about to say. "With me. You knew it was a prank, but you didn't run. Why?"

"Because it was the correct thing to do."

The correct thing, huh. For whom? "How so? You could have saved your skin. You didn't need to get in trouble for me. You could have been grounded, and then, no Space Center for a long while... no going out in the weekends... more chores..."

"You are grounded too, and that would have made the two of us! Besides... it was unfair. You didn't live in a city, so you didn't know the game, you were bound to get caught."

Good reasoning. Housuke made a mental note of keeping his eyes open to the small details. If he wanted to be a lawyer, he should catch on deceit as well as picking even the most insignificant of things. These could completely turn the tides of a case, even!

"I'll say it again, you are a lifesaver!"

"Oh, you won't believe that, once I get you to Maths remedials!"

"Come on, Daichi, I can use a break here, mind? Just for today, I can't handle more stress!"

"Haha, Odoroki, no way! I'll go wash my dishes. See you in the study room in half an hour!"

"Aw man, cut me some slack!"

The reply was a bright grin and a wave of the hand, as the black-haired boy took his tray and joined the queue to the washing line.

His hands full of dishwasher, he acknowledged the lessons of the day. Daichi's sense of justice aligned with his. He thought that, when he would become a lawyer, he would never allow any wrongdoing unpunished. He would try his very best to speak up for those who had their legs rooted to the ground, and those whose voice wouldn't come out or be heard. Because he now knew what it meant and how it felt.

Although, he mused, it wouldn't hurt if someone could make his case regarding the Maths remedials... and spare him the torture!


End file.
